Pale Movie

Last updated

"Pale Movie"
Pale Movie.jpg
Single by Saint Etienne
from the album Tiger Bay
B-side "Highgate Road Incident"
Released7 February 1994 (1994-02-07) [1]
Genre
Length3:51
Label Heavenly
Songwriter(s)
Producer(s) Saint Etienne
Saint Etienne singles chronology
"Xmas 93"
(1993)		"Pale Movie"
(1994)		"Like a Motorway"
(1994)
Music video
"Pale Movie" on YouTube

"Pale Movie" is a song by British pop group Saint Etienne, released in February 1994 by Heavenly Records as the first single from the group's third album, Tiger Bay (1994). The song reached number 28 on the UK Singles Charts and also became a hit in Iceland, peaking at number 24. In common with the folk music theme of the album, the song combines a Eurodance beat with Spanish folk-style guitars. The lyrics use surreal imagery to describe a man's love for a mysterious woman. Although the title is not sung, some of the words refer to cinema: "In the bed where they make love / She's in a film on the sheets. / He shows dreams like a movie, / She's the softness of cinema seats." Other lines are stranger: "her skin as white as the milk, / Just like a Sherpa Tenzing / under a Manila silk."

Contents

In an interview with Melody Maker magazine, keyboard player Pete Wiggs said that he considers the song "potentially brilliant" but "a bit of a failure"; he feels that the band "stuck too rigidly to our folk idea". He also adds that they only chose Spanish guitar so that they could go to Spain for the video

The cover art for the single features photographs of swimming tigers, presumably in reference to the album title.

Critical reception

Tim Sendra from AllMusic praised "Pale Movie" as "one of their "strongest, most emotional songs", feeling that "the melancholy fairly oozes from the aching strings, the very sad chords, and Sarah Cracknell's unusually emotional vocals." [2] In his weekly UK chart commentary, James Masterton wrote, "Something really has gone wrong when a band like Saint Etienne make a string of such beautiful records and yet have still to have a really big hit." He concluded, "I will happily dance naked around campus if this is a massive hit". [3] Caitlin Moran from Melody Maker stated, "And finally Saint Etienne turn into The Pet Shop Boys. Bunting, please. This is so sleek you could enter it in the Grand National, so cool you could store perfume in it, and so perfectly crafted carpenters will be weeping into their glueless dovetails for weeks. It bleeps and bloops, and then castanets and Spanish guitars are left to snap and glissande over the top of it. Marvellous." [4]

Pan-European magazine Music & Media commented, "Continentals should forget about their "too British" prejudice. With a bit of patience the same flower can flourish out of this synth pop band as happened last year to the Beloved." [5] Brad Beatnik from Music Week's RM Dance Update deemed it "a typically light, if a little moodier, tune". [6] Another editor, James Hamilton, described it as a "Kraftwerk-ishly pulsed lengthily pausing 134.3bpm ethereal swirler". [7] Stephen Dalton from NME named it Sherbed-Coated Single of the Week, writing that "it sounds less like the Hector's House theme at an under-fives rave — the standard Saints formula — than a sleek modern update of Abba's "Fernando", all Spanish guitar flurries and ill-fated lovers mooching around exotic locations." [8] Rob Sheffield from Rolling Stone declared it a "perfect" UK hit. [9] Tony Cross from Smash Hits gave it five out of five, adding, "Ai Carumba! Go la-la with the Saints as their latest dip into the pop palette comes up with a Spanish sunset yellow that rattles your castanets and perks up your paella with a saucy salsa beat. Lose the winter blues and join them on the Costa Del Pop for an early vacation — NOW!" [10]

Music video

The accompanying music video for "Pale Movie" was shot in Spain and features the band riding around the countryside of Nerja on scooters.

Track listings

All tracks were written and composed by Bob Stanley and Pete Wiggs.

  1. "Pale Movie" – 3:51
  2. "Highgate Road Incident" – 2:06
  1. "Pale Movie" – 3:51
  2. "Pale Movie" (stentorian dub) – 6:46
  3. "Pale Movie" (secret knowledge trouser assassin mix) – 10:16
  4. "Pale Movie" (lemonentry mix) – 4:05

Charts

Chart (1994)Peak
position
Europe (Eurochart Hot 100) [11] 83
Iceland (Íslenski Listinn Topp 40) [12] 24
UK Singles (OCC) [13] 28
UK Dance ( Music Week ) [14] 20
UK Club Chart ( Music Week ) [15] 47

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Saint Etienne (band)</span> English band

Saint Etienne are an English band from Greater London, formed in 1990. The band consists of Sarah Cracknell, Bob Stanley and Pete Wiggs. They became associated with the UK's indie dance scene in the 1990s, beginning with the release of their debut album Foxbase Alpha in 1991. Their work has been described as uniting 1990s club culture with 1960s pop and other disparate influences. The name of the band comes from the French football club of AS Saint-Étienne.

<i>Good Humor</i> (album) 1998 studio album by Saint Etienne

Good Humor is the fourth studio album by English alternative dance band Saint Etienne. It was released on 4 May 1998 by Creation Records. The American spelling of humor is used in the title as the band were, according to Sarah Cracknell, "fed up with the 'quintessentially English' tag, so there was a bit of a backlash against that."

<i>Tiger Bay</i> (album) 1994 studio album by Saint Etienne

Tiger Bay is the third studio album by English indie dance band Saint Etienne. It was released 28 February 1994 by Heavenly Records. In an interview with Record Collector, band member Bob Stanley stated that the title is a reference to the 1959 film Tiger Bay.

"(There's) Always Something There to Remind Me" is a song by songwriting team Burt Bacharach and Hal David. Originally recorded as a demo by Dionne Warwick in 1963, "(There's) Always Something There to Remind Me" first charted for Lou Johnson, whose version reached No. 49 on the Billboard Hot 100 in the summer of 1964. Sandie Shaw took the song to No. 1 in the UK that same year, while the duo Naked Eyes had a No. 8 hit with the song in the US two decades later in 1983.

<i>Too Young to Die: Singles 1990–1995</i> 1995 greatest hits album by Saint Etienne

Too Young to Die: Singles 1990–1995 is a compilation album released by English band Saint Etienne in 1995. The compilation collects the group's singles spanning the period of 1990 to 1995, five of which had not appeared on a studio album or featured on their 1993 compilation You Need a Mess of Help to Stand Alone. The track "He's on the Phone" was released as a single just before the album's release. The album peaked at number 17 on the UK Albums Chart and was certified Silver by the BPI.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">You're in a Bad Way</span> 1993 single by Saint Etienne

"You're in a Bad Way" is a song by British pop group Saint Etienne, released in February 1993 as the second single from their second album, So Tough (1993). The song is a deliberately old-fashioned throwback to 1960s pop music. In an interview with Melody Maker magazine, Bob Stanley claims that it was written in ten minutes as a simple imitation of Herman's Hermits, and was only intended to be a B-side to "Everlasting", but the record company decided that it should be a single. "Everlasting" was dropped as a single and remained unreleased until it was eventually included on disc 2 on the deluxe edition of So Tough in 2009.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">He's on the Phone</span> 1995 single by Saint Etienne

"He's on the Phone" is a song by British pop group Saint Etienne in collaboration with French singer-songwriter Étienne Daho, released in October 1995. A fast-paced dance track, it is one of Saint Etienne's biggest hits, reaching number 11 on the UK Singles Chart, number 31 in Iceland, number 41 in Sweden and number 33 on the US Billboard Dance Club Songs chart. The lyrics tell of an "academia girl" trying to escape from a relationship with a married man: "He's on the phone / And she wants to go home, / Shoes in hand, / Don't make a sound, / It's time to go." At the centre of the track is a spoken-word section by Daho.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Hobart Paving</span> 1993 single by Saint Etienne

"Hobart Paving" is a song by British pop group Saint Etienne from their second album, So Tough (1993). It was released by Heavenly Records on 11 May 1993 as a double A-side with the band's cover of "Who Do You Think You Are", originally released in 1974 by Jigsaw and a hit for Candlewick Green. It reached number 23 on the UK Singles Chart.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Avenue (song)</span> 1992 single by Saint Etienne

"Avenue" is a song by British pop group Saint Etienne, released in October 1992 as the first single from their second album, So Tough (1992). It was originally titled "Lovely Heart" or "Young Heart". The album version is a 7-minute version with lengthy instrumental sequences; it was edited down to around 4 minutes for radio play, though the commercial single contained the full-length version, with the radio edit only released on promotional material. The edit wasn't released commercially until 2005's Travel Edition 1990-2005.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Like a Motorway</span> 1994 single by Saint Etienne

"Like a Motorway" is a song by British pop group Saint Etienne. The song combines the melody from the nineteenth century folk song "Silver Dagger" with a driving techno beat influenced by Kraftwerk and Snap!. It describes a friend whose lover has mysteriously vanished.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Saint Etienne discography</span>

English alternative dance band Saint Etienne have released ten studio albums, two soundtrack albums, nine compilation albums, two remix albums, seven mix albums, two video albums, one box set, four extended plays, 38 singles, and five promotional singles.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Kiss and Make Up (Saint Etienne song)</span> 1990 single by Saint Etienne

"Kiss and Make Up" is a song by Saint Etienne, released as a single in 1990. It is a cover version of "Let's Kiss and Make Up", a song by The Field Mice from their 1989 album, Snowball.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Nothing Can Stop Us (song)</span> 1991 single by Saint Etienne

"Nothing Can Stop Us" is a song by English band Saint Etienne, released in May 1991 as the third single from their debut album, Foxbase Alpha (1991). It is the first release to feature Sarah Cracknell, who would continue to front the band from this release on. The single reached the number one spot on the American dance charts for one week. The song is based on a looped sample from Dusty Springfield's recording of "I Can't Wait Until I See My Baby's Face".

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Xmas 93</span> 1993 single by Saint Etienne

"Xmas 93" is a Christmas-themed single by English alternative dance band Saint Etienne. It was released in the United Kingdom on 6 December 1993 by Heavenly Recordings. The lead track "I Was Born on Christmas Day" features guest vocals from The Charlatans singer Tim Burgess, and peaked at number 37 on the UK Singles Chart. The song's title is a nod to band member Bob Stanley, who was born on 25 December 1964. The music video for the single was filmed in the vicinity of Kensington and Chelsea Register Office in London.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Join Our Club</span> 1992 single by Saint Etienne

"Join Our Club" is a song by English musical group Saint Etienne, released by Heavenly Records in May 1992 as a double-A side with "People Get Real".

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Hug My Soul</span> 1994 single by Saint Etienne

"Hug My Soul" is a song by British band Saint Etienne. It was the third single from their third album, Tiger Bay (1994), and was released in September 1994 by Heavenly Records. It was written by vocalist Sarah Cracknell along with songwriting partners Guy Batson and Johnny Male.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">One Goodbye in Ten</span> 1993 single by Shara Nelson

"One Goodbye in Ten" is a song by British singer-songwriter Shara Nelson, released in September 1993 by Cooltempo as the second single from the singer's first solo album, What Silence Knows (1993). Written by her with British band Saint Etienne, the song received critical acclaim and peaked at number 21 on the UK Singles Chart. Additionally, it was a top-30 hit in Austria and a top-50 hit in the Netherlands.

<i>Words and Music by Saint Etienne</i> 2012 studio album by Saint Etienne

Words and Music by Saint Etienne is the eighth studio album by English alternative dance band Saint Etienne, released on 18 May 2012 by Heavenly Recordings. The band announced the album in a Christmas message on their official website on 11 December 2011. The album features collaborations from longtime Saint Etienne associate Ian Catt, as well as Richard X and former Xenomania members Tim Powell and Nick Coler.

<i>Home Counties</i> (album) 2017 studio album by Saint Etienne

Home Counties is the ninth studio album by English alternative dance band Saint Etienne, released on 2 June 2017 by Heavenly Recordings. The album features collaborations with Gerard Johnson, Augustus and Nick Moon. The album features production from Shawn Lee, Carwyn Ellis and Richard X.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Sylvie (song)</span> 1998 single by Saint Etienne

"Sylvie" is a 1998 song written and performed by British pop group Saint Etienne and released as the first single from their fourth album, Good Humor (1998). Produced by Swedish record producer, composer and musician Tore Johansson, it peaked at number 12 on the UK Singles Chart and number 62 on the Eurochart Hot 100. The song also reached number seven in Scotland and number two on the UK Indie Singles Chart. The accompanying music video was directed by Björn Lindgren and filmed in Havana, Cuba.

References

  1. ↑ "Single Releases". Music Week . 5 February 1994. p. 29.
  2. ↑ Sendra, Tim. "Saint Etienne – Pale Movie". AllMusic . Retrieved 6 November 2020.
  3. ↑ Masterton, James (13 February 1994). "Week Ending February 19th 1994". Chart Watch UK. Retrieved 6 September 2021.
  4. ↑ Moran, Caitlin (5 February 1994). "Singles". Melody Maker . p. 27. Retrieved 3 August 2023.
  5. ↑ "New Releases: Singles" (PDF). Music & Media . 12 March 1994. p. 8. Retrieved 10 March 2021.
  6. ↑ Beatnik, Brad (29 January 1994). "Hot Vinyl" (PDF). Music Week, in Record Mirror (Dance Update Supplemental Insert). p. 4. Retrieved 13 April 2021.
  7. ↑ Hamilton, James (19 February 1994). "Dj directory" (PDF). Music Week, in Record Mirror (Dance Update Supplemental Insert). p. 7. Retrieved 14 April 2021.
  8. ↑ Dalton, Stephen (5 February 1994). "Singles". NME . p. 43. Retrieved 3 August 2023.
  9. ↑ Sheffield, Rob (4 September 1998). "Saint Etienne – Good Humor". Rolling Stone . Archived from the original on 30 September 2007. Retrieved 6 November 2020.
  10. ↑ Cross, Tony (2 February 1994). "New Singles". Smash Hits . p. 50. Retrieved 29 December 2022.
  11. ↑ "Eurochart Hot 100 Singles" (PDF). Music & Media . 26 February 1994. p. 14. Retrieved 29 March 2018.
  12. ↑ "Íslenski Listinn Topp 40 (28.04.1994–04.05.1994)". Dagblaðið Vísir (in Icelandic). 28 April 1994. p. 20. Retrieved 13 March 2018.
  13. ↑ "Official Singles Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 3 December 2022.
  14. ↑ "Dance Singles" (PDF). Music Week . 19 February 1994. p. 22. Retrieved 24 April 2021.
  15. ↑ "The RM Club Chart" (PDF). Music Week, in Record Mirror (Dance Update Supplemental Insert). 5 February 1994. p. 4. Retrieved 15 May 2023.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.